Upset with being frisked and having a naked image taken of you at airports?
Increasingly, stringent air security screening methods such as these are under question. And they’re not just being questioned by travelers upset at being groped. A consensus is building among the airline industry, business and leisure travel groups and even top government officials that something needs to change.
The alternative they’re looking to: traveler verification systems akin to trusted traveler programs, in which people’s backgrounds are checked beforehand, and they verify who they are when they get ready to board a flight.
The Transportation Security Administration and airlines already are testing a verification program for airline crews, which could end aggressive screening of them. It’s time, airlines around the world say, that similar programs — and tiered programs — should be extended to trusted or known travelers.
Travelers’ frustrations at the stop-and-go jam at airport security checkpoints have been rising for years, as new layers of screening measures were introduced with each terrorist threat. The bubble may have burst last year when TSA introduced body-scan machines and aggressive pat-downs, irking many travelers concerned that their privacy was being violated.
The travel industry argues that a prevalent public perception that you’re assumed guilty until found innocent at air checkpoints discourages foreign visitors, dampening an already gloomy outlook amid a sluggish economy. (REST OF ARTICLE, CLICK LINK AT TOP)

a) I'm cheap (Ok, I'm thrifty) and don't think one should pay for this service as I take it one of the goals of the TSA is get as many pax thru the checkpoint as safely as possible but also as fast as possible so imho, the TSA should foot the price a pax would pay for this service

b) I really don't like the idea of a government database being used for this as the TSA/DHS has screwed the proverbial pooch with the no-fly list and its accuracyso I really would not want to have all of my personal information retained by "the G".

a) I'm cheap (Ok, I'm thrifty) and don't think one should pay for this service as I take it one of the goals of the TSA is get as many pax thru the checkpoint as safely as possible but also as fast as possible so imho, the TSA should foot the price a pax would pay for this service

b) I really don't like the idea of a government database being used for this as the TSA/DHS has screwed the proverbial pooch with the no-fly list and its accuracyso I really would not want to have all of my personal information retained by "the G".

But what do I know?

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Regarding point b), if you have a passport the G already has that information. Of course there is no telling what other information would be required.

Regarding point b), if you have a passport the G already has that information. Of course there is no telling what other information would be required.

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Or a G security clearance.

I counted it up the other day. I've been background checked at least 6 times in recent memory (includes Global Entry and private pilot checks). None of that counts for commercial flight, but I can fly my own plane within a couple of mile of Andrews AFB. Go figure.....

a) I'm cheap (Ok, I'm thrifty) and don't think one should pay for this service as I take it one of the goals of the TSA is get as many pax thru the checkpoint as safely as possible but also as fast as possible so imho, the TSA should foot the price a pax would pay for this service

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Of course they should. By moving to a trusted traveler program, we'd be able to cut a significant chunk of the TSA workforce and save the government a few bucks. Heck, they should be paying us to sign up.

Of course they should. By moving to a trusted traveler program, we'd be able to cut a significant chunk of the TSA workforce and save the government a few bucks. Heck, they should be paying us to sign up.

Mike

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Don't even think that they'll cut the workforce. Bureaucracies exist to increase their size and power.

I know there's principle about how much The G knows about people, but if you really want an eye-opener, research how much credit card companies know about you.

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Good point; and when one takes into account the information the G obtains from credit card companies, law enforcement, court records, your bank, your health insurance administrator and health care providers, your grocery store affinity program (recall Kroger handing the government all their Kroger card records at some point on 9/12/01), etc, I often wonder why any type of formal security screening beyond a passport is even necessary.

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